Simon MacDonald

Well, that was a good book!

Another story in installments - left hanging with no satisfactory ending. Its so obvious when a story has been split in two to get another book out of it. - part two next year.
Interesting characters, but overkill on details about NASA operations and space technology (and I usually like that sort of thing). Obviously making the most of her two years research at NASA.

Just excellent.

Better than I expected! Good fun, lots of back, lewd humour.

A lot of this book confused me. Some of it disturbed me. Perhaps when the third book comes out I will find out what's going on.

An epic tale, dark, but nonetheless engrossing.

I thought I had read this book, but pleased to find I hadn't. Great hard SF.

Good fun space opera tosh. Enjoyable, but no thought required!

Gaah! A cliff hanger! See next book not yet available.

Meh! Not so much

An excellent end to the trilogy.

Good, but not as good as the first one.

Tedious.

I found this a hard read. There are some great ideas in this story, but I found myself buried in seemingly endless philosophical discussions. I get the point that the whole premise of the book is based around the worthiness or otherwise of the human race, and the reactions of the planet. This needs discussion, but, hey, I got so bored. Looks like part 2 coming soon.

I've read all the books in the series, so far - they just get better and better.

Two books, definitely of the time they were written. I was OK with them, until near the end of the second book, I lost the plot, when, inexplicably, the spider aliens entered the story.

An exhausting read, but worth the effort. Plots, sub plots, political shenanigans, philosophy, religion, new gods, Ancient Greek gods, super science, sex, love, and a story narrator who is self-admitedly insane. Fantastic stuff. Now I just have to wait until 2019 for the final part.

I'd give it a 3.5. Lots happening in this book. Set around the middle of the Polity time line after Line War. Cyborgs, Golems, AIs, Hoopers , Dragon, Haimens , and most of the the big hitters from the other Polity stories racing around the galaxy shooting stuff. Loads of action, but a frequently changing point of view between a multitude of characters spoils the flow of the action somewhat. Overall, I enjoyed it - a good scene setter for the rest of the trilogy.

The first third of the book was ok. It then turned into a ramble, in excruciating detail, of game world creation, which then segued into a morality tale of good vs evil. The book just ended with a feeble unsatisfactory whimper. Disappointing.

Excellent

I've read most of Alistair Reynolds' books, but this series is not up to his usual standard. Doesn't do it for me.

One of the better books I've read this year! Hooked, I'll have to read them all now.

A depressing story. The AI nilhistic opinion of (the now extinct) human race fills me with a sense of foreboding. Very well written, but I had to work at enjoying it.

Started a 4, ended a 3.5

Some good writing but not really the sort of book that grabs me.